UAW voting on GM contract starts Friday

A notice at GM's assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas, said workers will vote after their shifts beginning Friday morning

Following the ceremonial handshake between General Motors and United Auto Workers Monday, July 13, 2015 at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources in Detroit, General Motors President Mary Barra, left, chats with UAW President Dennis Williams as they prepare to take questions from the media.(Photo: Regina H. Boone)

As UAW leaders brief local officials from more than 40 General Motors locations Wednesday afternoon, at least one local has decided its members will vote Friday on the four-year agreement.

Details of the proposed contract will be shared Wednesday afternoon by UAW President Dennis Williams, Cindy Estrada, vice president of the union's General Motors department, and members of the bargaining committee. They will meet with officers from more than three dozen locals at 3 p.m. at the UAW-GM Human Resources Center in Detroit.

Some locals will have more time to review those details than others.

A notice posted by leaders of UAW Local 31 at GM's assembly plant in Fairfax, Kan., said their workers will vote after their shifts beginning Friday morning at 5 a.m. and running through 8 a.m. Saturday morning.

Jorge Rodriguez, plant chairman for UAW Local 31, apologized on Facebook Tuesday afternoon for posting the voting schedule before Wednesday's council meeting.

"We had scheduled the vote for Friday because our plant will be on layoff next week," Rodriguez said on Facebook. "I will like to apologize for creating this confusion I have created."

Bill Bagwell, a worker who belongs to Local 174, said his local will hold its information meeting at 11 a.m. at UAW Region 1B in Ypsilanti on Sunday with voting immediately after.

“When the second Chrysler contract was considered the union said members would have about a week to consider it," Bagwell said. "Why can’t we have the same amount of time ?"

David Pruett, a Fairfax worker, also expressed concern about the quick vote.

"There is not enough time to rationally consider what is going on and make a decision," Pruett said.

An official at Local 653 in Pontiac said his leadership was looking at starting their vote next Monday, but had not finalized that decision.

Workers in Spring Hill, Tenn., will note next Wednesday, Nov. 4, according to a notice from Local 1853 Chairman Mike Herron to members. Information meetings will be held for each of three shifts the same day of the vote.

Wednesday afternoon at the UAW-GM Human Resources Center in Detroit, Williams, Estrada and other officials will give details to local chairmen and presidents of the deal reached late Sunday.

While the expectation is that the wage package will be similar to the one that the UAW negotiated with Fiat Chrysler, there could be differences, such as a larger ratification bonus or differences in performance-based awards.

The union's contract with FCA included a gradual narrowing of the wage gap between those hired before and after October 2007, but new workers hired now will not reach parity with their more senior coworkers until another contract is reached in fall 2019.

More specifically, entry-level workers will receive a $3,000 signing bonus. The range of their wages will start at $17 an hour (up from $15.78 in the previous contract) and top out at about $29 an hour in eight years or less. Previously the Tier 2 production workers could make no more than $19.28 an hour.

Some workers wanted newer hires to reach the maximum more quickly. They will will see their hourly wage rise to $22.50 by 2019 from a maximum of $19.28 in the old contract.